I watched LOTR: Return of the King the 3rd time yesterday night! With Mr Ueng, Mr Morgan P and Jiang Bo. This movie is so grand! And full of deleted scenes too -- I read the book. So the Extended Edition DVD will be good!

And the quotes from the movies are so nice and artistic and grand!

I visited the Singapore Discovery Centre today. It's basically the SAF NE exhibition centre. I tried the motion simulator ride as well as the M-16 shooting game. I also tried fishing at the lake! Mind you, fishing is not allowed, but I was there under SANA's function, and they had a fishing booth there sponsored by a fishing tour company. Rod fishing in the lake with a big hook and chicken meat as bait. No fish in half an hour, so we gave up. The only time I successfully fished was with a line and small hook at the canal in Survival Village in Hendon Camp (Commando Camp) in 1997 during my 2nd installment.

I just came back from my reservist ICT -- 5th Dec to 19 Dec. We did the whole works -- very tiring. SAR-21, range, live firing exercise, stand-by force. The 3-day main exercise had Company in conc, hasty defence, dawn attack and MTC -- combat rations all the way. Sometimes I wonder why I meet so few people who are in real combat units -- I guess someone must do the unpalatable work of defending the nation and I happen to be one of them. So few people around me can empathise with what I go through...

Some of my friends know that my HP ring tone is the theme from Charlie's Angels. Why? (No lah, not because of the 3 Charlie's Angels from my class!) It's because I'm Charlie's Angel -- 650 SIR Charlie Company Medic Specialist.

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I have just received my new posting letter. I applied for transfer and so I'm going to Damai Secondary next year. Well, my new students will be from a younger age-group, different backgrounds compared to College. So I have to treat them the standard way like I did when I was in Bedok North last time. So boring when the students cannot interact properly with me...

I was just reminded of the untimely death of one of my students. I've never had a "54" on my hands though, and none of my classmates have ever passed away while still in the same class as me.

One of my Pri 6 classmates in TNS who was in the adjacent class in DHS had managed to beat a brain tumour and survive brain surgery while I was in DHS. When we left for JC, he was left behind in DHS as he had to repeat a year. While in NS, I learnt that he eventually died of complications. So quietly, without us knowing, because he was not in the same school. I never knew when he died or under what circumstances. His name was Lu Kaijie.

Last year, one of my PAE students who went to TJC later met with her untimely demise in September. As she was not under my care, I was spared of having to fill the Pupil Occurence Slip -- reason for leaving school, code "54" for death. But it was quite sad, and I was sad too.

Recently, I have been reminded of clubbing on two occasions by my students.

I have occasionally visited some nightspots with friends in the past when I was younger -- what you would call clubbing or pubbing now. Interestingly, the term clubbing is quite a new word -- didn't have such a word last time. Also, there is a difference between clubbing and pubbing, contrary to what some of my students suggest. Clubbing is when you drink, dance, and there are tables. Pubbing is well... at pubs and bars!

In the past, I remember there was a time when tea dances were what the wild students go for to experience it legally. This was a daytime disco with no drinking for youths. The term disco is archaic! Obviously, being the goody-goody that I was, I never tried any of these tea dance thingies.

University time was when I had my first experience of nightlife. I remember going to Fire disco, I think -- for Hostel Orientation! I also remember, in 2nd year, visiting Guild House, NUS's own nightspot with a dance floor -- open till 1 am and $10 per entry for NUS people only (2 drinks too). They stopped it when I was in year 3 as it was too wild... Later on, I did visit some nightspots with my DHS classmates when we met up -- they were always meeting at nightspots!

What I do remember is people getting drunk! NUS Guild House at 1 am -- all the drunk people would come out! When you are drunk, you remove the inhibition and reveal the true you. Some get violent easily, some talk, their tongues are loosed, some are mellow, some sleeping. I've never been drunk before, or anywhere near. But I know that alcohol removes the inhibition and allows even the most shy to dance. Well, I did!

Most times, I took a Shirley Temple or some other mocktail. When I did feel like drinking, I tried stuff like bourbon coke (cola's caffeine helps keep you alert), vodka lime and tequila pop (you put the coaster over the glass and hit the glass on the table hard and it fizzes, then you gulp it down, but I was not permitted to rush the drink). Quite mild, if you drink slowly. I did not like the taste of most alcoholic drinks, which is why I can never get drunk, cos I never drink enough! But I do have a weakness for tasty cocktails though. I remember having a Long Island iced tea for the first time. Tastes just like ice lemon tea, so I was going through it very fast. My chaperone had to remind me that the Long Island tea is a strong cocktail and is notorious for making people drunk -- so he took a quarter of my drink!

Talking about chaperones... Most of the time, I function as the chaperone -- the one who will 100% stay sober and ensure the safety of everyone. Of course, being the chaperone, I need a chaperone too -- to make sure I never get drunk! One friend got dead drunk after 4 drinks! You will also definitely get drunk after 3 tequila neats (lick salt and suck lemon -- there are correct methods to take each drink! I was quite fascinated!).

Things can get quite strange sometimes at nightspots. I remember there was once when there was this queue for the unisex single toilet. A girl was inside and next thing you know, a slightly intoxicated guy comes along, jumps queue, and opens the toilet door! Don't know why she did not lock the toilet door (maybe the lock was spoilt?), but luckily, she was done and was washing her hands. Moral of the story: Whenever you use the toilet, lock the door. And go in a pair so that your friend can guard for you.

When it's time to leave, some people are a bit drunk, while some may be downright unconscious! I remember once, when it was time to leave, my friend was drunk, so she went to the ladies to neaten up. We waited and waited, but she did not appear, so we went to check and she was sleeping in a cubicle. She was really drunk, and had to be carried out to the road. I remember she was lying by the roadside while we waited for a cab -- must have been quite a sight... The other friend was a bit drunk too, but could talk coherently -- I believe the term is "a bit high". Luckily I was sober and could ensure their safe return. Oh well, I have to emphasize, whatever you do -- DO NOT GET DRUNK!

And the music is so loud at nightspots! It would be better if it was softer.

Test. It works! The URL problem has been solved!

Today I went for the 2nd session of JC Physics teachers briefing at TJC. Supposedly half of the JC Physics teachers were there (less 2 JCs which opted out), but it did not look like so!

I realise that being a JC teacher means that during meetings like this, you see these few teachers all the time -- the circle is quite closed. I also realised that many people from my circle in university time are JC teachers too. And I realised that some of them are posting out soon after some time in a JC. I also realised that since there are only so few JCs, JC teachers are very reserved and guarded in their interactions with other JC teachers -- they are viewed as rivals! The life of a JC teacher is indeed vastly different from that of a secondary school teacher.

I also learned that not all JC teachers are "on" or sharp. Most RJC and HCJC teachers are good. VJC, TJC and NJC teachers are mostly quiet, so can't really tell.

I bought 3 CDs today. I haven't bought CDs for a long time, but I got inspired to buy one (ok, three) when I met an old friend at Parkway MPH yesterday. He sort of recommended two CDs. So I bought 2 Emi Fujita CDs and the Kill Bill soundtrack today. The sad themes from the movie are so interesting, as are some other pieces -- but I have to admit, soundtracks are expensive to buy for just a few tracks. But I couldn't find any MP3s out there. Here's a midi of The Lonely Shepherd though....

I just came back from chalet session with my CT class. The main activities this time was soccer, bowling, playing pool, BBQ and cycling -- not exactly a lot for a 2 day chalet, I guess. But quite a few of us still had work committments in school. We could have swum perhaps. We wanted to kayak though, but the rental kiosk at Pasir Ris Park apparently went bust already. You know what? I probably will try to round up some people to kayak/canoe at Bedok ECP one of these days...

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I have a 2 week reservist this December again as usual -- this time with a stand-by as well. So I won't be able to come out over the weekend. What to do? Combat unit is like that one... I'm an Infantry Combat Medic -- an SIR soldier. The funny thing is, all around me, I seldom meet combat people from the real combat units (SIR/BRC/GDS/CDO). Clerks, techs... combat support at most. My experiences during my NSF days from 1993 to 1999 are one of a kind -- that's just about the only advantage you get by being in a fighting unit.

Actually, I'm glad that throughout every phase of my life, I have been able to experience something and be thankful for it and say "Yes, I've done something...". From cadet scouts in TNS, school team volleyball in DHS, ODAC YLTC Camp and String Ensemble in VJC, combat medic and contributing to saving 4 lives in NS, 2 marathons, OBS 21 days, BRC attachment days and a Special Op in NS (2nd installment), sailing course, climbing Mt Trusmadi and Mt Kinabalu, etc. during the later years, to being a teacher, and a Robotics Club teacher, guiding the next generation.

I guess if a person were to think back at 29 and see that nothing significant was done, it would be most sad.

I met someone on Saturday who said he would want to work and stay in Australia in a few years time. He felt that Singapore was small and overcrowded and these two factors were causing a lot of problems. He felt that Singapore was a bad place to bring up children with good values because of the overcrowding and resultant competition. But luckily, the security and education situation is good, which means it is still somewhat good for children, I guess.

Although it might be said that it is difficult to survive in Melbourne, he says that life is cheaper there as housing and rental is low. One could be doing a small business with low customer flow but survive well due to the low rental and housing. This would be unthinkable in Singapore with high housing cost and business rental. With some savings after working a few years in Singapore, one could have sufficient to go over there as a PR.

He does have a point. Singapore seems to have deteriorated somewhat over the past 10 years. Life is getting a lot more difficult with such high housing and rental cost. There is frequently emphasis on unimportant things and gimmicks, which seem to add value, but actually is money going down the drain.

We need to do something about it fast...

I managed to catch Prof Gunther's Body Worlds exhibition on Monday. Not scary at all. Definitely educational in nature, and one should marvel at the grand design of the human body. The exhibition is a bit small though -- it is just a fraction of the normal exhibition in Europe. At $18 for adults and $12 for MOE students, it is a bit expensive.

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I was at Sim Lim Square food court today with Mr Ueng and Mr Morgan (CompLab staff). We were having dinner (OK, technically I had eaten already and was snacking to accompany them) and then when we were about to leave, we found that Mr Ueng's bag was gone! Unbelievably, someone stole it right under our very noses!

The thief was a real pro! And I hope that he is pro enough to know that he should take the valuables and ensure that the bag is eventually recovered -- leave it somewhere in Sim Lim, on a bus, etc.

After lunch with some of my church friends, we went out to the jungles of MacRitchie! We wanted to go see the ruins of the WWII Japanese Shinto shrine deep in the jungle. After an hour's plus trek from SICC (Singapore Island Country Club), we reached the place. It was just like Indiana Jones! Not much was left, but from the concrete steps left, I can imagine the size of the place last time! There was supposed to be a link bridge over the reservoir too, but the stumps left are under water now.

The shrine "Syonan Jinja" was constructed to commemorate the deaths of the Japanese soldiers and staff who died in the invasion of Singapore. The British understandably destroyed it after the war -- if they didn't, the people would do it!

Link 1
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Happy Birthday to me!

I watched Matrix Revolutions today. Hmm... Not a good movie! Thin plot, not very clear at times. I hope LOTR: Return of the King does not disappoint!

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I'm starting to feel old! I've always looked young, but I think I'm starting to deteriorate! I think it's time for me to use some miracle water or age-defying lotion! At 28, I think it's about time to start doing something...

I finally managed to fix my broadband connection, which had not been working for 3 months, courtesy of my brother (younger one, of course!). We have 2 PCs at home, the stronger one being in his room, because he studied Computer Engineering. But he's not good enough to maintain the PCs -- I'm the one that does that. And I bought the PCs and most of the hardware too. Logically, my ADSL connection goes with the stronger PC in his room.

He always messes up the computer and needs me to fix things! And he used to use my email account to email (without my permission!) or put in forms so that he is unaffected and anonymous. So now my SingNet account is always full of spam!

And he infected the PC with 2 viruses! No wonder he's not an engineer now...

I guess that's the way it always is with little brothers...

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My car looks something like this... A lilac blue Hyundai Getz.


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In Singapore, you simply cannot drive at the speed limit. Everyone would horn at you! I get a bit annoyed when I'm not allowed to be a good citizen!

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My ambulance attachment in 1993 was a bit of a washout. It was boring. Once, the bell sounded, and I hopped into the ambulance with the my crew and we moved off. But a suddent storm developed and lo and behold, our wipers were faulty! Because of that, we had to slow to a crawl on the PIE. Disgusted, the AO radioed in to say she was unable to reach in time, and requested another ambulance to take over the call. Then we returned. That was the only time I went out.

The ambulance carries a maternity pack on board. Erm... There's an episiotomy scissors in it -- I was told they rarely used it. I know of an ambulance attachment friend who took a maternity case. Mother-to-be went into labour with 2nd baby and wanted to wait for hubby to return home before going to hospital. When he came back, she was in heavy labour. So they called for an ambulance. When the ambulance crew came, she was in 2nd stage with imminent delivery. So she was prepped for delivery, and gave birth soon after. My friend (a male!) described it as if "the baby did not want to be born"! Did the mother suffer? Yes, she looked like she was suffering a bit, but did not scream and writhe in agony like on TV. Erm... Did the mother-to-be consent to a guy looking at her giving birth? "Of course lah!" Anyway, it was just the AO (female as usual) and the Crew (male) and my friend (Driver was in the ambulance). Now that's a good ambulance attachment, not like mine.

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My birthday is coming up! I seldom have any real celebration -- the only time I had real birthday celebrations was when I was in university. When I was a student, school would have ended (school ends before national exams), and so no one would know. Of course, now I have students, but not a lot know when my birthday is.

I ran some errands today and managed to succeed in all! I paid my Road Tax and made my photo-card licence. I topped up the car after that. And went to Taka Kino to spend my last $10 voucher before it expires (6th Nov). [I had $50 Kino and $50 Borders vouchers last year courtesy of my College.] I managed to do that, which is a feat considering that I spent 12 hours in total over 3 days browsing the store to spend the $50. I also looked around in Borders, but nothing caught my eye. Luckily, the Borders card expires next year...

And I managed to get my phone's GPRS settings done. The settings were correct, and GPRS activated, but somehow, my phone could not connect. The M1 staff were perplexed too. They tried to download settings (which I tried before) but received no response from their server. After discussions with 1627 and their technical support, they finally managed to get it to work after 30+ minutes.

I also took a look at the Impreza Challenge at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza. Wow! 57 hours already and still so many survivors, including 3 ladies!

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When I was doing my A and E attachment in 1993, I managed to see quite a few things. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience, unless you get to work there, of course. 3 dead bodies during my 2-day rotation. One was a cardiac case: when the doctors gave up, my friend took over to practise CPR. Another was quite sad. The old lady had a fall and got a head injury. Could not breathe, so was put on a respirator. She was in her 80s, and the doctors decided not to give resus treatment. After she was disconnected, they doctors went out to tell the relatives. The nurses left too, leaving us there. So there we were with her lying there not breathing, but her heart still beating. No wonder they all left us there alone -- no one wanted to see her arrest and die. We stuck around for 2 minutes, she still had not arrested, and we decided we could not take it anymore, and left her to die alone.

The third one was a gunshot wound. I could not believe it when the call came in that a gunshot to the chest was coming in! Robbery? Accident? No! From Pulau Tekong! Shot by M-16! The shooter shot himself afterward! We were told to prepare for 2 guys coming in. We went out to the helipad and the Super Puma came in and I rushed forward to help unload the casualty. Aircrew hands over the BVM and I continue bagging him. I thought: Oh my, he has a resus face! And quite a dead one too. I knew he wasn't going to make it.

I went back to the chopper to get the other one, but was told there was only one. Perplexed, we ran back to the driveway, but the ambulance had sped off. The police officer told us to hop into his patrol car, and he gave us a ride back to the A and E Department. Since this was a major case, we did not participate but looked from afar. Chest tube, after 10 minutes, they gave up and pronounced him.

I saw him after that when they cleaned him up. Then they rolled him out as if he was a patient. I bet no one looking knew he was dead! They rolled him to an empty room (not the usual DOA room so as not to arouse suspicion...). And then they did it: covered his head with the sheet. I remember his half-open eyes and mouth: that's how a dead resus case looks like.

The other guy was a mort. He shot himeself from jaw upwards and some of his brain went into the foxhole. He took a harbour launch to the mortuary instead of a Super Puma.

During the 2 days, I managed to see another chest tube (non-emergency) and a fracture case. I observed the triage work too.

I'm a little sick today, but I'm in the recovery phase now, thanks to quick intervention with antibiotics, Piriton and Dequa lozenges, which I have. I was tempted to take an MC, but decided that there was too much work to do. Besides, it is the last day of proper lessons.

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I have thought about trying to study Medicine, but NUS does not take mature students unless there are special circumstances. In any case, I was not selected during their interviews last time, so they will probably pass on me. Doing Medicine in the US or UK is very expensive. It is barely affordable in Australia, but there are admission tests, etc. In any case, enrolment for foreign medical students in overseas universities is kept low. So I think that's very difficult.

A Masters by research in academic subject is quite difficult, and frankly, quite pointless unless one is a researcher. Even most academic coursework Masters is of little use. All this is just to keep the education economy healthy.

I think perhaps I should start learning stuff that is of use. I think I can start with some software writing. And then some languages -- maybe Malay, Japanese, Cantonese, French?

Or perhaps I should go to Timor Leste and help them out for a year. It will be meaningful, but not financially rewarding.

I was on course yesterday and today. I seldom have the privilege of going on course during term time, and I must say that it was quite relaxing compared to what I do daily. I didn't really work yesterday night and tonight, so I guess I will surely regret tomorrow when I return to the meat grinder that is XJC.

You know what, I think I should take a JC2 student for tuition or something... This calls for a drastic change in my mindset towards the College.

I went to Sentosa with my students on Friday Deepavali. Saw the new musical fountain and took the cable car back.





Watched Kill Bill Vol. 1 yesterday. Really violent! To be continued in Vol. 2.



I went for a car wash today. I normally wash my car myself, but I thought it would be interesting to do a car wash at a petrol station. Anyway, only $6 for such an interesting experience from the perspective inside the car... I had a manual wash of course, since auto ones are supposedly bad for paintwork. It was a "snow wash", quite efficient! If I did my normal handwash without the benefit of a water jet, it would take 3 times longer!

Some people ask why I bought a car when I live so close to College. In fact, my brother has a car too. Well, I want to own a car some time during my life, and when the COE was down, I decided that it was now or never. When COEs cost $40,000, I don't think I can bring myself to buy a car unless I'm super rich, which is impossible...

It really has been quite a while! I've been most unhappy lately. I feel that I'm not appreciated by my school, I'm not appreciated by my Principal and HOD, I'm not appreciated by my students, I'm not appreciated by their parents, I'm not appreciated by my parents.

It always begs me to wonder, why am I doing all this? I have devoted a good portion of my life to the school, and to my students. My own form class students who took the A Levels in 2001 -- they were the best class of their subject combination in the end. But they were the worst of their combination throughout their career in the College! Where are they now? 2 DSTA Overseas scholars, 1 NUS Undergraduate Scholar, 3 SIA-NOL Undergraduate Scholars, 1 ASEAN Undergraduate Scholar, 1 LMS (Teaching) Scholar. And from my other classes? That's another 8 names in the College Day Handbook to make a total of 16. And my robotics students are mostly good in their studies. My care and concern for my students is unparallelled, and I train them like I would myself. My committment to my job is high.

I have never let the College down -- but the College has let me down more than once.

It's been a long time since I wrote anything. Argh! I've been so busy! I haven't done any of my regular web reading for a 2 weeks now. And I still need to prepare Olympiad notes for students ASAP!

And my arms are quite sore from the exercise session on Wednesday and yesterday.

Watching the NDP

It was National Day yesterday, the 38th National day since independence in 1965. I went to see the National Day Parade again this year. Actually, I'm a veteran of NDPs. I've been to more than 10 NDPs in my life -- lost count already. I've been a spectator most of the time, but I've been involved as part of the flashbook contingent, as a display item performer (TKD) and as an NDP cheerleader-motivator (yes, pom poms, singing and all...).

In the past, if you wanted to see the NDP, all you had to do was to queue from Saturday 3 pm to Sunday 10 am to be assured of a pair of tickets. But this year onwards, tickets were allocated by ballotting, so I guess I probably won't be going to the NDP so often now...

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I've been very busy in school. These days, I keep thinking if it's worth it. I don't know if I will have regrets when I'm older. I certainly hope not...

Here's a typical day as a JC Science teacher. Today...

I was in school before 7.30 am. After assembly, I had my breakfast. After that, I did some admin stuff -- register prep, forms sorting, etc. Then I went for a tutorial session. After that lesson, I had a meeting -- an academic one. After the meeting, I generated a report and then did some CT filing. Then it was time to mark some practical books.

I had lunch next, followed by a practical and a tutorial lesson. After that, I went to hunt for some students to pass them something. Then I briefed two of my baby engineers on IR remote control. After that it was time for another tutorial lesson.

After the lesson, my academic day was over at 3 pm. I informed another teacher of the absence of 2 students from my class, and then uploaded the latest project source code onto the eLearning platform. Then I proceeded to the lounge to finish reading the newspapers, as well as watch a snippet of Futurama and some other clips 2 GP tutors were testing.

Off to the canteen for a snack, and then it was time to go back to work. Helped students on IR remote work and other projects. Finished at 8.35 pm, discussed a bit more. Then off to dinner before returning at 9.30 pm for some more work. Did a practical solution. Discussed some more. And here I am.

One of my SSEF students (the strong one) came back with a Bronze, while the other one came back with a Merit. She started out as knowing nothing at all about electronics and microcontrollers and I'm glad she's picked up enough to be called a "technical" member.

This week, I've been working till 11 pm to 12 am almost everyday due to the SSEF and the other big event today. Such is the life of a JC science teacher.

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Sometimes I think I should quit service and do something else. Be an entrepreneur. Or to study to be a doctor. Or to do something meaningful in a Third World country.

I'm a JC teacher in Singapore -- in a Top-5 JC. For those in Singapore, you know they are HCJC, RJC, VJC, NJC and TJC. I've been teaching in my JC for almost 4 years now.

It's quite stressful being a dedicated JC teacher -- you have superiors, parents and students to deal with. Sometimes, I do think that being a teacher may not be a good deal. There are no hard skills that you possess. You lead a very different life compared to your peers. You wake up earlier and have more work than others, yet most of your work is marking, which is monotonous. You are often not appreciated. You don't accomplish anything tangible.

The only thing that keeps me going is that I know I'm enabling my students to lead a life that they won't regret.

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Some of my students always skip lessons and think up all sorts of excuses. I wonder why? And why they are so daring? We were never so daring when we were students!

Two of my "baby engineers" are going for the SSEF this week. One of them is very good, and the other teacher is supervising him. The other one is a bit weak technically, a bit procrastinating. I kept reminding her to see me, but she kept putting it off until today! And the set-up is on Thursday! I wonder how she's going to come back with a medal?!